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PRESS RELEASE
Mayor Young and Baltimore Congressional Delegation Announce Nearly $3.7 Million to Combat Youth Homelessness in Baltimore
BALTIMORE, MD. — Today, Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young joined Senator Ben Cardin, Senator Chris Van Hollen and Congressman John Sarbanes to announce nearly $3.7 million in federal funding for the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program. These federal funds will support a comprehensive planning process to develop the best strategies to meet the needs of homeless youth in Baltimore City.
“I’d like to thank our federal partners for providing access to these critical funds,” said Mayor Bernard C. “Jack” Young. “This grant will allow the City of Baltimore to develop a data driven plan focused on the needs of unaccompanied youth and to initiate programs to better serve those in need of housing and supportive services. I have made it a priority in Baltimore to make homelessness, especially for our youth, rare and brief.”
“Connecting homeless youth with appropriate, targeted services will make an enormous difference in their lives. We want to ensure that every child in our city has a safe and stable place to call home,” said Senator Ben Cardin. “As a federal delegation, Team Maryland is committed to delivering resources that will target local Baltimore priorities. This must include investing in our children and ensuring they have a fair shot at a bright future.”
“Far too many children and young adults face homelessness in Maryland and across our country – and far too little is known about this particularly vulnerable population. This funding will help Baltimore City better understand and combat this serious problem,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen. “Together, we will keep working to ensure that all Maryland families have access to safe and affordable housing.”
“This new infusion of federal funding will help Baltimore better assess and address the needs of homeless youth across the city,” said Congressman John Sarbanes. “By more closely aligning the city’s resources with local nonprofits, we can improve the delivery and quality of services to those who need it most and we can work toward every young person in Baltimore having access to a safe and stable home.”
HUD Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program funds may be used for permanent housing, transitional housing, supportive services, Homeless Management Information Systems, or homelessness prevention. Grantees may include nonprofit providers, States, and local governments working to quickly re-house homeless and unaccompanied youth.
“The health, safety and long term success of young adults is of great importance to the overall vitality of our city and requires each of us to come together as one to work collectively to ensure that we understand the barriers that our young adults face and are working diligently and responsibly to ensure they have access to the quality services they need to ensure that homelessness is rare and brief” said Jerrianne Anthony, Director for the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services. “We are honored to have this opportunity and are committed to working to develop a high quality, data driven plan and seeing it through to fruition.”
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